The present invention relates to recognitive hydrogels, recognitive polymers and inherent signal transduction. In particular, the present invention relates to combinations of molecularly imprinted polymers and conductive polymers.
Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are polymers that are formed in the presence of an imprinted compound such that the imprinted compound may be later removed, leaving a MIP that is able to recognize and bind to the imprinted compound via a binding cavity. MIPs with various specificities have been developed. The ability of MIPs to specifically recognize other compounds is difficult to exploit in a commercially useful manner unless there is a way to detect binding of the imprinted compound to the MIP in a sample.
Transduction of a MIP/imprinted compound binding event has been demonstrated optically and via a quartz crystal microbalance, but each of these techniques would be difficult to use in a clinical diagnostic test. Optical detection would require extensive sample preparation because typical clinical samples (such as blood) are opaque and do not naturally lend themselves to optical detection methods. Quartz crystal microbalances are expensive to manufacture, prohibiting disposable tests and introducing sample cross contamination issues, and also require relatively large sample volumes.
Conductive polymers (CPs) are macromolecules which are able to conduct an electrical charge. This ability to conduct a charge may be altered, for example, if the chemistry of the CP is altered. Many CPs are responsive to oxidation-reduction (redox) reactions and are thus useful in electrochemical sensors, but redox reactions are limited to molecules which can react, typically in the presence of a catalyst or enzyme. CPs have been used in a variety of electrochemical reactions. For example, polyelectrolyte CPs demonstrate “super-quenching” of fluorescence in the presence of a biomolecule in solution due to disruption of the charge by the biomolecule. CPs have been combined with hydrogels to detect electrochemical signals.
Many molecules exist, however, which do not participate in redox reactions and/or are not enzymatically active. Detection of these molecules is also significant. Further, detection of molecules that do participate in redox reaction in other fashions may provide alternative sensors. While limited experiments involving the mixture of MIPs able to detect one type of biomolecule and CPs have been performed, the functionality of such a system and the ability to actually detect the molecule has not been well-explored.
While the present disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific example embodiments have been shown in the figures and are herein described in more detail. It should be understood, however, that the description of specific example embodiments is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, this disclosure is to cover all modifications and equivalents as illustrated, in part, by the appended claims.